Brighton or Eastbourne stand in way of Bognor's route to cup final at Amex

Michael Hellyer

Bognor will face Brighton under-23s or Eastbourne Town in the semi-final of the Sussex Senior Cup.

The Brighton-Eastbourne last-eight clash will take place on Tuesday, February 19 at Eastbourne's Saffrons ground. The Rocks will play the winners at Sussex FA HQ in Lancing on Tuesday, March 5.

Bognor played Brighton under-23s in a pre-season friendly last July, winning 2-1 at Nyewood Lane.

The Brighton-Eastbourne game has caused controversy as the quarter-final was due to be played on January 23, but was postponed because Brighton couldn’t field enough players.

The Sussex FA said Brighton’s involvement in the FA Youth Cup was the reason behind the postponement, but Town’s manager, John Lambert, was unhappy with the decision, claiming the Seagulls received preferential treatment from the county FA.

Lambert referenced a fixture in earlier rounds, when Seaford Town - forced to withdraw from their second round tie at Bognor because of an insufficient number of players - were thrown out of the cup and Bognor progressed into the third round without playing.

Whoever they play, the Rocks will be unable to field left-back Joe Tomlinson in the semi-final - as they have been in other rounds - because he is a Brighton player.

In the other SSC semi-final, Haywards Heath Town will play either Burgess Hill Town or Eastbourne Borough. Haywards Heath will find out who they face in the last four when their potential opponents play this Tuesday (Feb 12) at Haywards Heath’s Leylands Park.

That semi-final is scheduled to be played, also at Sussex FA HQ at Lancing, on Wednesday, February 27.